Students

Current PhD Students

Yujie Wang
Interests: Transfer Learning, Multi-task Learning.

Jenna Landy 
Interests: False Discovery Rates; Ensemble Learning

Keith Bernatchez
Interests: Causal Inference

Former PhD Students

Isabella Grabski 
PhD 2023 @ Harvard School of Public Health, now Postdoctoral Fellow, NY Genome Center
Title: "Probabilistic approaches to multi-study genomic matrix decompositions and single-cell RNA-sequencing analysis"
Interests: Nonnegative matrix factorization, Bayesian modeling, Cancer computational biology

Gabriel Loewinger
PhD 2022 @ Harvard School of Public Health, now Research Scientist, Machine Learning Team, NIMH 
Title: "Statistical Learning Methods for Multi-Dataset Prediction"
Interests: resampling and ensembling methods machine learning, multi-study analysis.

Cathy Wang Shyr
PhD 2022 @ Harvard School of Public Health, now Postdoctoral Fellow, Vanderbilt U
Title: "Statistical and Machine Learning Methods for Multi-Study Prediction and Causal Inference"
Interests: Meta-analysis, Causal Inference, Boosting.

Jane Liang (jointly supervised with Danielle Braun)
PhD 2022 @ Harvard School of Public Health, now Senior Biostatistician, Quantitative Sciences Unit, Stanford U
Title: "Innovative Approaches for Risk Assessment in Panel Gene Testing"
Interests: Mendelian Modeling in high dimensions. Statistical Software

Maya Ramachandran
PhD 2021 @ Harvard School of Public Health, now at Data Scientist at Zephyr AI
Title: "Tree-Based Ensembling Strategies for Handling Heterogeneous Data" 
Interests: tree-based algorithms in machine learning, multi-study analysis.

Zoe Guan (jointly supervised with Danielle Braun)
PhD 2020 @ Harvard School of Public Health, now Postdoctoral Fellow at MSKCC
Title: "Statistical and Machine Learning Methods for Clinical Risk Prediction"
Interests: Risk prediction, model combination, model validation, machine learning, multi-study analysis.

Yuqing Zhang (jointly supervised with Evan Johnson)
PhD 2020 @ Boston University Medical School, now at Gilead
Title: "Statistical and Computational Methods for Addressing Heterogeneity in Genomic Data"
Interests: Bath effect adjustment, multi-study analysis.

Theo Huang (jointly supervised with Danielle Braun)
PhD 2019 @ Harvard School of Public Health, now Senior Statistician at Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Boston
Title: "Statistical and Machine Learning Approaches for Family History Data"
Interests: Risk prediction, model combination, frailty models.

Christina McIntosh
PhD 2017 @ Harvard School of Public Health, now at Takeda
Title: "An Analysis of Using Pedigrees in Family Based Studies and an Exploration of Cancer Risk and Cancer Resistance Using Twin Studies."
Interests: Statistical methods for twin studies. Genetics of cancer resistance.

Yifan Zhang
PhD 2014 @ Harvard School of Public Health, now Research Associate at Stanford University.
Title: "Bayesian adaptive clinical trials".
Interests: Adaptive clinical trials. Cancer biostatistics.

Danielle Braun
PhD 2014 @ Harvard School of Public Health, now Research Scientist at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston
Thesis: "Statistical Methods to Adjust for Measurement Error in Risk Prediction Models and Observational Studies"
Interests: Measurement error in cancer biostatistics. Risk prediction. Machine learning.

Simina Boca
PhD 2011@ Johns Hopkins University, now Assistant Professor at Georgetown University School of Medicine, Washington
Thesis: "Interpretable Set Analysis for High-Dimensional Data"
Interests: Cancer genome sequencing projects. Gene set analyses.

YenYi Ho
PhD 2008 @ Johns Hopkins University, now Assistant Professor of Statistics, University of South Carolina.
Thesis: "Gene Regulatory Networks and Higher-Order Interactions: Algorithms and Statistical Models"
Interests: High order interaction analysis in genomics.

Wenyi Wang
PhD 2007 @ Johns Hopkins University, now at MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston. Thesis "Statistical Methods for Cancer Risk Assessment and Copy Number Estimation"
Interests: Statistical Genetics and genomics. Mendelian risk prediction. SNP analysis.

Rob Scharpf
PhD 2007 @ Johns Hopkins University, now Associate Professor at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore. Thesis: "Combining High-Throughput Genomic Data: Methods and Utility"
Interests: Cancer and Cardiovascular Disease genomics. Integration of genomic measurements across technologies. SNP analysis. Genome-wide association studies.

Hormuzd Katki
PhD 2006 @ Hopkins, now Senior Investigator at the National Cancer Institute, Rockville.
Thesis: "Extending Mendelian Mutation Prediction Models that Predict if One has a Disease-Causing Mutation Based on Family History of Disease"
Interests: Genetic epidemiology of cancer. Measurement error. Censoring and competing risks.

Dongmei Liu
PhD 2005 @ Hopkins, now at Acerta Pharma, Cupertino.
Thesis: "Application of Hierarchical Models in Microarray Data Analysis: Screening for Differentially Expressed Genes and Making Inference on Functional Classes".
Interests: Genomics of eye disases. Bayesian hierarchical models in microarray data analysis, inference on functional class -- disease associations.

Jian Wang
MHS 2003 @ Hopkins, now at Columbia University, NY.
Cancer genomics. Classification of cancer subtypes using gene expression microarrays.

Natalie Blades
PhD 2002 @ Hopkins, now Associate Professor at Brigham Young University, Provo
Thesis: "Statistical Methods for Serial Analysis of Gene Expression".
Interest: Gene expression, experimental design.

Xi "Kathy" Zhou
PhD 2002 @ Duke, now at Cornell University, NY
Thesis: "Classification of Missense Mutations of Disease Genes".
Interests: Bayesian hierarchical models; nonparametric regression; classification.

Daniel Gudbjartsson
PhD 2000 @ Duke, now at Decode Genetics, Reykjavik
Thesis: "Multipoint Linkage Analysis based on Allele Sharing Models".
Interests: statistical genetics; multipoint linkage analysis.

Heidi Ashih
PhD 2000 @ Duke, Now at Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston
Thesis: "Joint Estimation of Mammographic Sensitivity and Tumor Growth".
Interests: practicing medicine.

Heather DeSimone Sasinowska
PhD 1996 @ Duke, now at INCOGEN, Clemson
Thesis: "Prediction Using Orthogonalized Model Mixing".
Interests: Information systems for bioinformatics and biology.

Fusheng Su PhD
1996 @ Duke, now at HUAYI Clinical Research
Thesis: "Limit Theorems on Deviation Probabilities with Applications in Two-Armed Clinical Trials".
Interests: sequential design, large deviations, bandit problems.

Former Visiting PhD Students

Roberta DeVito
PhD 2016 @ University of Padova, now Postdoctoral Research Associate at Princeton University.
Thesis: "Multi-study analysis for high dimensional biological data".
Interests: Factor analysis, High dimensional Bayesian inference, Bayesian nonparametrics.

Ainong Zhou
PhD 2006 @ George Washington University, now at Medstar Research Institute, Hyattsville.
Thesis: "Bayes Factors Comparing Two Multi-Normal Covariance Matrices and Their Application to Microarray Data Analysis"
Interests: Clinical Trials. Bayesian models.

Valeria Edefonti
PhD 2005 @ U Bocconi, now at Università Statale, Milano.
Thesis: "Integrating Supervised and Unsupervised Learning in Genomics Applications",
Interests: "Cancer genomics. Bayesian combinatorial mixture models. Cancer Epidemiology".

Cristian Pattaro
PhD 2005 @ U of Verona, now at EURAC, Bolzano.
Thesis: "Haplotype block partitioning as a tool for dimensionality reduction in complex disease modeling",
Interests: Epidemiology-genomics interface. Block reconstruction in SNP analysis.

Lilla Di Scala
PhD 2004 @ University of Pavia, now at Actelion Pharmaceuticals, Basel.
Thesis: Concordance indices and applications to microarray analysis.
Interests: Concordance indices; asymptotics; gene expression; clinical trials.

Former Undergraduate Honor Thesis Students

(list only goes until 2016, update coming soon)